ReportWire

Tag: school systems

  • Danvers siblings raise autism awareness

    Danvers siblings raise autism awareness

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    DANVERS — Brother and sister duo Jackson and Taylor Skane, of Danvers, have been advocating for autism most of their lives. On Friday, they were at three elementary schools in Peabody and Danvers to help bring awareness to the neurological disorder and kick off April as Autism Awareness Month.

    Jackson, a high school senior studying dental assisting at Essex Tech, was diagnosed with autism at age 3. His younger sister Taylor, a junior studying culinary also at Essex Tech, has been by Jackson’s side supporting him as they spread the word about autism to communities on the North Shore. On Friday, they visited students at the Brown School in Peabody and the Great Oak and Smith schools in Danvers.

    For nearly 15 years, the siblings have been strong advocates for autism in their neighborhood, schools, and with other organizations, working to raise awareness. They started by giving out blue light bulbs to friends, neighbors, and their schools, and that grew into larger events and opportunities.

    Jackson is one of two student representatives for the Essex Tech School Committee, a member of the Student Council, DECA, an advisory board member for the school’s dental programs, a National Honor Society recipient, and an assistant at North Shore Dance Academy for a class for students with a disability. He is also a youth Board of Director to the Northeast Arc’s board where he is the youngest member, speaking to the interests and priorities of young people with disabilities and autism. He has been part of the Northeast Arc since he was a young child.

    Jackson plans to study special education in college next fall.

    Taylor is a member of the Youth Board for The Rock The Spectrum, a volunteer at The Northeast Arc and Citizens Inn/Haven from Hunger, and an assistant at North Shore Dance Academy for a class for students with a disability. She will graduate next year and also plans to study special education in college.

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    By News Staff

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  • Panel shows the power of nonprofits in Gloucester

    Panel shows the power of nonprofits in Gloucester

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    No matter what you hear, nobody’s gotten to where they are totally on their own.

    That’s what Cape Ann nonprofit leaders said during a panel discussion held Friday on the state of local social justice work following the COVID-19 pandemic. and it’s why their nonprofits are so important, they added.

    “Even being able to get to work, you didn’t do that alone,” said Jill Brown, a SNAP advocate for The Open Door and panelist at the event. “You did that because there’s an infrastructure in place, which happened because of a whole bunch of people working together.”

    Held at the Backyard Growers headquarters off Maplewood Avenue, the panel was largely attended by students of moderator Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber, a Suffolk University professor and Gloucester resident.

    It’s been an uphill battle to help locals in need since the start of the pandemic, panelists said. Prior to 2020, 44% of Gloucester residents were low-income and 66% were cost-burdened, meaning more than 30% of their income goes toward housing, Brown said.

    “Things before the pandemic were not good, and a lot of people who were teetering on the edge just got pushed off it,” said panelist Leah Briere, a client services coordinator for The Open Door.

    “People were not affected equally,” she said. “Those who were already experiencing inequalities, that got even worse.”

    Poverty disproportionately affected people of color during the pandemic, and more than half a million women left the workforce at the time, mostly to care for children during online schooling and missing out on career advancement as a result. Children in poverty experienced higher learning losses than their more well-to-do classmates, Briere said.

    Creating food pathways

    The Open Door reported a dramatic increase in its number of clients during the pandemic. Requests for help are still far from pre-pandemic levels, but there’s more opportunities for those in need, Brown said.

    The Open Door started an online grocery ordering system during the pandemic that allows clients to choose what food they want from the organization, instead of receiving pre-packed bags that might include food they don’t like or can’t eat.

    There’s a new translating service that connects clients with someone who speaks their language when placing an order or requesting other types of assistance from The Open Door, rather than relying on Google Translate as the nonprofit did in the past, Briere said.

    Backyard Growers is starting a farmers market at Burnham’s Field this year that’s focused on providing healthy, affordable food from local farmers. The new spot is easier to walk to for many of the area’s low-income residents, and the market will accept SNAP benefits, said Alison DiFiore, executive director of the organization.

    Valuing skillsets

    Nonprofits have placed a larger emphasis on fostering equity since the pandemic. But creating equity doesn’t just mean promoting diversity, said Andy Allen, director of education and career pathways for Wellspring House in Gloucester.

    Equity is about valuing the skillsets of those with different backgrounds — including immigrants who are learning English, a fair share of Wellspring’s clients who take part in its housing, education and job training assistance programs.

    These clients often feel ashamed of their budding English skills even when they have degrees or worked as lawyers, doctors, engineers or in other high-paying careers back in their old countries.

    “I turn it and say, ‘You know more than one language already. You’re a valuable entity — your qualities are far beyond mine’,” Allen said.

    “You can get a much better job. Yeah, you need to have some English to help you get there, but as soon as (employers) find out that you know eight languages or three, you might be making $50 an hour,” he said.

    Being the change

    The last few years have been overwhelming for the nonprofit sector, even in Gloucester. Yet, as Allen said during the panel, “If you want to make a change, you have to be the one to make change, and you can’t do it by yourself. You need a group of people to stand up.”

    That’s what Susan Erony did when Seham Awad and her family, all Syrian refugees, arrived in Gloucester in 2016. Having fled dictator Hafez al-Assad’s regime prior to staying in overcrowded refugee camps in Turkey, the Awads came to America with next to nothing.

    Erony brought together her friends and other Gloucester residents to raise $35,000 for the Awads and a family of Afghani refugees at the time. The effort turned into The Friends of Cape Ann Refugees, and “friends” is the best way to describe what the unofficial group has become.

    Members celebrate birthdays together and bond over Seham Awad’s delicious cooking, which she’s taught to local schoolchildren through the group. Madmoni-Gerber acts as a translator, speaking both Arabic and English.

    “She loves all the people that helped her along the way,” Madmoni-Gerber said Friday, translating for Awad. “This is beyond an organization. We really love each other and it’s just a wonderful friendship.”

    Contact Caroline E nos at CEnos@northofboston.com.

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    By Caroline Enos | Staff Writer

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  • It’s OK to ask for help: A look at local Community Behavioral Health Centers

    It’s OK to ask for help: A look at local Community Behavioral Health Centers

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    Whether you’re a student juggling too many deadlines and competing commitments on campus or a police officer struggling with a seemingly no-win situation on the job — or some other level of crisis — there are dedicated places and people you can lean on in your own backyard.

    Throughout the region, behavioral health services operate around the clock as a vital area of support for those in need of help. Many are partnered with community crisis stabilization programs that accept insurance and provide a bed, individual and group therapy, and a life-changing serving of hope to anyone placing an order.

    These services have expanded greatly with the state’s launch of a “Community Behavioral Health Center” system in early 2023. The system, which can be found at tinyurl.com/3s59jpsp, is rapidly expanding with increased awareness and demand.

    “The main reason the state did this redesign from the former service programs to CBHC’s was because, well… the two main reasons were that there was an increase in boarding times, and hospital systems and hospital ERs were flooded with folks walking in for services who may not necessarily need to access the intensity of the emergency room,” said Josh Eigen, CBHC director at Eliot Community Behavioral Health, at 75 Sylvan St. in Danvers and 95 Pleasant St. in Lynn. “And folks were just waiting for placement, so CBHCs were created as an option for folks to get all of their care in the community.”

    People from all walks of life are now walking into such facilities and getting rapid access to care, and coming out well on their way toward a new lease on life.

    “One of the things the pandemic did which was good was that it did bring up conversations,” said Kristen Godin, market president for Northeast Health Services, at 199 Rosewood Drive in Danvers. “We weren’t able to use telehealth before. There was a very select number of players that would allow for telehealth, and that opened the door.

    “That, in and of itself, is a huge access point. Folks who are extremely busy — they work, bring their kids to soccer, are on the PTA, all the things they had to do in their offices — are things they weren’t able to do.”

    Reaching everyone, especially the young

    Walk into a CBHC and you enter a community of hope. Some have message boards for clients to leave notes for those entering. Others have comfy recliners for clients to relax in their lobbies as a hum of human activity comes and goes.

    “As a mental health agency, we’re providers of hope,” Godin said. “We have a hope board, so anybody can write on that board about what they’re experience has been to another person walking by who might have just started their first appointment, or is trying to decide… do I want medication? Do I want TMS services?

    “There was a young woman recently who wrote on our board, ‘I’ve been struggling with mental health for years, tried medication, been in therapy, nothing worked. I tried Spravato, and I have my life back,’” Godin continued. “For me, beyond anything else, that’s what we do this for. That’s why we’re opening 10 clinics, 10 more after that, and expanding further.”

    With CBHCs launching last January, data is now starting to show trends of their impact, Eigen explained.

    “Some of the data is showing that folks are able to access care more immediately,” he said. “It’s opening up other options for folks other than needing to go on waitlists or in the emergency room. … The data we’ve seen so far is showing people are progressing in the treatment we’re offering. We’ve been able to continue for over a year now with not having waitlists, so it’s definitely heading in the right direction.”

    But there’s still work to do to reach some subsets of the population. That includes youth and young adults heading to college, where many factors could collide and cause a drastic drop in mental health that shocks those back home — especially if it isn’t addressed before it’s too late.

    “There has to be an opportunity that mental health is brought up on every college campus, every high school, every elementary school,” Godin said. “At college campuses, the other thing we talk about is substance abuse. If we’re talking about college, there has to be an opportunity if there’s a moment on a Saturday at 4 a.m., where they’re like, ‘who do I call?’”

    Godin recalled going to college and seeing conversations around substance abuse, but not much more.

    “There was never a discussion on counseling, therapy, asking for help,” she said. “There needs to be more of that, posted in all of the guidance counselor’s offices.”

    Vicarious trauma, on the job or at home

    Then there are the others impacted by mental health as part of day-to-day life, more specifically work.

    Say you’re a police officer who witnessed a person dying by suicide, a firefighter helping a badly burned victim out of an engulfed building, or a doctor losing a patient. Vicarious trauma represents the harmful moments experienced by people as part of their daily lives — especially careers.

    It’s also something that affects those answering the phone at crisis centers. But vicarious trauma also goes deeper and can be further experienced by anyone at home, no matter their line of work or level of mental health awareness, according to Godin.

    “No one ever remembers that we’re humans,” she said. “Vicarious trauma is a real thing, and it can happen to the person answering a phone, can happen to me listening to a story, anyone watching a show or listening to the news. One of the things we try to do here at Northeast Health Services is our culture of self-care.

    “All our clinicians are licensed. I’m licensed as a clinician, and my supervisor as a chief operating officer is licensed as a clinician,” Godin continued. “If there’s a debrief that needs to happen that’s critical to make sure folks are okay, self-care regimens, boundaries… we have an EAP program for folks. If they need that, they can call it and get eight appointments right away.”

    Over at Eliot, “our staff have access to regular supervision and support,” Eigen said. “They have regular supervision with supervisors and managers, myself. Some of our teams also have group support where they’re meeting with other clinical directors to talk about tough calls or tough assessments, tough clients that they’re working with.

    “There’s so much trauma that the people we serve have been through,” he continued. “So it’s important and definitely a priority where we provide that kind of support.”

    For more information on CBHCs or to find one nearest you, visit tinyurl.com/3s59jpsp.

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    By Dustin Luca | Staff Writer

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  • City halfway there when it comes to school budget request

    City halfway there when it comes to school budget request

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    Even with the city planning to kick in $3 million of a proposed $6.1 million increase to keep Gloucester schools level funded in the new school year, Superintendent Ben Lummis cited possible cuts to balance the fiscal 2025 budget.

    He outlined a proposed $55.85 million level-services budget for the School Committee on Wednesday night. That is a 12.3% increase, or $6.1 million, more than this year’s spending, given a jump in costs for out-of-district special education and transportation, health care and contractual salary increases, among other things.

    Lummis said the city plans to meet the schools halfway.

    In doing so, the schools would have to cut $3.1 million worth of services, costs and staffing to balance its budget.

    “At this point, the city has let us know they can fund $3 million of the $6.1 million the schools require for a level-funded budget,” Lummis said.

    “But to be clear,” said School Committee Vice Chair Bill Melvin, “that’s not … It’s a reduction in services.”

    Lummis said coming to a balanced budget — not the level-services one — would depend on several factors, including:

    A $1.3 million supplemental appropriation prior to the end of the fiscal year in June to make pay prepaid tuition and special education costs. This would require a City Council vote.

    Another $200,000 for one-time costs for information technology and buses this fiscal year.

    A proposed $1.5 million annual increase in the schools’ operating budget from the city.

    Another $3.1 million in reductions in costs and staffing.

    “It is very unlikely that we’re going to be able to staff levels that we’ve had for recent years because of the increase in operating expenses, and also just to wage pressures as well,” Lummis said.

    What might the reductions look like?

    The administration wants to protect Tier 1 (core) instruction and curriculum and support vulnerable learners.

    In the elementary schools, the priority would be to protect social emotional learning and mental health. At the middle school this would mean maintaining the house structure, and at the high school, the priority would be preparation for post-secondary success, Lummis said.

    However, salaries and benefits make up 86% of the Gloucester schools’ operating costs, so reducing the operating budget means reducing staffing.

    A $500,000 cut in the operating budget equals about seven full-time equivalent positions, Lummis said.

    Reduction options

    Lummis referred to two different levels of cuts. The first would mean reductions of $1 million to $1.75 million.

    At the elementary level, this would include Tier II intervention and support, special education staff based on students’ Individualized Education Plan services, a move of some services to grants, and instructional support and curriculum initiatives.

    At the grade six through 12, the administration would look to trim Tier II intervention support, pause the planned medical assisting exploratory launch as a new career and vocational program at Gloucester High until September 2025, reduce special education staff based on IEP services, move related services onto grants, reduce staff in one or more academic areas which Lummis said would increase class size; and reduce increases in student support services for mental health and social emotional learning.

    At the district office, Lummis would trim IT infrastructure and delay upgrades, seek one-time funding for a one-to-one Chromebook initiative, and reduce administration and transportation costs.

    Lummis said the reductions would still mean smaller class sizes in the elementary schools and a range of class sizes at the middle and high schools. This level of reductions would allow for diverse academic offerings and a broad range of programming at Gloucester High, improvements at O’Maley Innovation Middle School and high-qualify art, music, and performing arts programs.

    However, those areas would be in jeopardy with reductions of $2 million to $3 million.

    The schools’ operating budget is not benefiting fully from the state funding increases that have come since fiscal 2023 as a result of the state Student Opportunity Act, Lummis said.

    For instance, in fiscal 2023, state Chapter 70 education aid to the city increased by $2.77 million and by $1.67 million last year, with the governor proposing $318,000 on top of that for this coming school year.

    Lummis said the state has determined the cost of educating students has increased $2.3 million for the upcoming school year, and that the local contribution should increase by $1.9 million, plus another $318,000 for Chapter 70 aid.

    Cumulative state aid for education increases since fiscal 2022 has totaled nearly $12 million.

    However, during that time, the city has increased the schools’ operating budget by a total of $1.85 million above the typical baseline increase to the schools each year which is typically $1.25 million, he said.

    Increased funding applied to the schools outside the operating budget since fiscal 2022 includes $2 million for DPW school facilities, $3.3 million for borrowing for school capital projects, and $4.2 million for one-time projects such as the Annisquam River flood barrier, demolition of East Gloucester Elementary School, grease traps, Gloucester High lockers, and American Rescue Plan Act funding for new playgrounds.

    Finding dollars

    There are opportunities to increase school funding, including the city funding the operating budget with the $2.3 million increase determined by the state, Lummis said.

    The city could put American Rescue Plan Act funding it received toward special education tuition, transportation and wage stabilization, which Lummis said are all eligible to be funded this way. The city could also reduce the facilities budget for such things as flooring projects and allocate those dollars to the schools, he said.

    Mayor Greg Verga, a member of the School Committee, said the city administration would continue to work with the school administration “to see what kind of rabbits we can pull out of our hats.”

    Verga said he shared with Lummis a spreadsheet showing the city spends $22.1 million outside the schools’ operating budget on the schools, an increase of $6 million from 2022 to 2024.

    “The kicker” is the city’s increase this year in new growth under Proposition 2 1/2 is 2.6% or $3.5 million. With a $130 million budget, total school spending represents about $72 million, he said.

    With another $1 million going toward the city’s pension liability, and the proposed increase to the schools of $1.5 million, Verga said he has $1 million in new growth funding to spread around to the rest of the city’s budget.

    One solution may be to lobby state lawmakers to pass the governor’s Municipal Empowerment Act to provide more opportunities for local option tax increases, he said.

    The School Committee’s Budget and Finance Subcommittee plans to take up the fiscal 2025 school budget April 8.

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    By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer

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  • Jesus never leaves us

    Jesus never leaves us

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    My Sisters and Brothers in Christ: 

    We make ready for Holy Week, a time to walk with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the Way of the Cross. It is a time for our most sincere reflection of who we are as a people of God and how we are living our sacramental Covenant through, with, and in Him. It is a time to consider whether our thoughts, words and deeds are truly of God so that we, individually and as a people gathered, are a light for the nations. 

    Do our words open the eyes of our children to God? Do we enfold those who have heartbreak and brokenness with God’s tender mercy and prayer? Do we lead those whose joy has abandoned their own breath and bring them back to smile again, to be filled with God’s light? Do we live 24/7/365 through His victory of justice? 

    Jesus never leaves us. He remains with us through the Eucharist to guide us always as the Way of the Cross is not a moment in time but a time of life. He died for us that we might have everlasting life and by that, He calls us to be His dwelling place that there would be no difference between heaven and earth. By becoming flesh, He calls our humanity to divinity. How close are we to living as a Eucharist?

    On Monday, March 25, I will be joined by the priests serving in the Diocese of Orlando and you, the community of faith, for the celebration of the Chrism Mass. The Chrism Mass, celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe at 11 a.m., is an invitation for the Church to acknowledge the essential of our daily living, Jesus the Eucharist. It is a beautiful presentation of the oils of anointing which are used throughout the liturgical year to bring forth the Sacraments of Initiation, Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Orders. We announce the Oil of Catechumens, Oil of the Sick, and Oil of Holy Chrism to God and ask Him to bless them that we might continue to imbue His dwelling place with the splendor of holiness by all the people. Each prayer of blessing includes an explanation of the power and effect of each oil. The newly blessed oils are apportioned and distributed to each Catholic church in the Diocese of Orlando and are brought forth during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday), intimating our oneness with one another through, with and in God.

    During the Chrism Mass, I invite all the priest concelebrants to reaffirm their ministry by renewing the promises made at Ordination. We were anointed with the oil of Holy Chrism, the oil of gladness, the Holy Spirit, to serve God’s people as priests of His Son. Together we pray to God, the author of the Sacraments and bestower of life, that we bring to completion the growth of His Church until she reaches the measure of fullness He proclaims through all ages. We pray that Christ visit his priests in their prayer, in their Bishop, in their brother priests and in their people. We ask that He upset our routine, disrupt our lives and disquiet us and lead us to employ all our talents and abilities to ensure that our people may have life and life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10).  

    During the Chrism Mass, we celebrate our jubilarians, Redemptorist Father Aldrin Nunes on his 25th anniversary, Father William Zamborsky, on his 50th anniversary, Msgr. William Ennis on his 60th anniversary, and Msgr. David Page on his 65th anniversary. We thank the Holy Cross Fathers Joseph Long and Laurence Olzsewski for their service in our diocese as they celebrate 65 and 60 years respectively, and extern priests Father Hilario Rivera-Gonzalez and Father Joseph Maniangat celebrating 50 and 60 years respectively. 

    May we be set as a covenant of the people asking the Lord to bless us now and forever. Amen. 

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  • State eyes simplification of college aid process

    State eyes simplification of college aid process

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    With an array of more than 50 state financial aid programs available to college students, public higher education officials are embarking on an effort to simplify those offerings by 2026.

    The Department of Higher Education plans to evaluate gaps in financial support as officials consider redesigning the mix of tuition reimbursement, grant, loan forgiveness and tax programs. The overhaul is meant to expand education access, improve affordability, and ensure that aid delivery is reliable and predictable, Deputy Commissioner of Policy Michael Dannenberg said.

    “So part of our analysis will look at the ultimate unmet need or need of students, whether they are in state or out of state, whether they’re receiving financial aid programs from the state or not from the state,” he said during a virtual Board of Higher Education meeting Tuesday. ”We’ll try and simplify, and highlight, (and) prioritize those for needy families and socioeconomic mobility.”

    Developing a “more coherent financial aid system” would also focus on ensuring students complete their degrees and certificates, Dannenberg said.

    Earlier this year, DHE launched its Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid (MASFA), a portal that’s meant to mimic the federal FAFSA form and allow undocumented students to unlock the millions of dollars available in state aid programs.

    Nearly 400 MASFA applications have been submitted or are in progress for the 2023-2024 academic year, with another 230 applications in the pipeline so far for the next academic year, a DHE spokesperson said Monday.

    At least 34 state financial aid programs serve less than 10,000 students, and more than 20 programs reach less than 2,000 recipients. At least two dozen state financial aid programs are not based on economic need, and at least 16 programs have a median award value under $200, Dannenberg said.

    Officials do not want to harm current financial aid recipients, and some programs may need to be adjusted with a grandfather clause to protect them, he said.

    The deputy commissioner showed board members a list of the programs, with some serving categories of students, including athletes, children of Sept. 11 victims, foster and adopted children, and aspiring educators, paraprofessionals and nurses. Also on the list were recent major expansions of financial aid, including making community college free for adults ages 25 and older and covering tuition costs and fees for Pell-Grant eligible students.

    “So we’ve got a lot of programs, a lot of very small small programs, and a lot of programs that are not linked to economic need,” he said.

    As the redesign continues, the plan is to conduct analyses this spring and summer, and review redesign options with the board in the fall. Officials would then seek input from advocates, experts and others at the start of 2025, share recommendations by spring 2025, and prepare to implement the changes for the fall 2026, Dannenberg said.

    Beyond the state’s financial aid portfolio, higher education officials are grappling with the ripple effects of the severely delayed launch of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

    The form only became available in January, compared to its typical fall rollout, after the system experienced multiple glitches with new funding formulas. During Tuesday’s board meeting, state officials urged students, including those frustrated by the FAFSA’s challenges this year, to still complete the form.

    Students need to submit the FASFA by May 1 for “priority consideration,” though officials are considering extending that deadline due to the form’s delay, said Clantha McCurdy, senior deputy commissioner of access and student financial assistance.

    The DHE is spending $1 million on “strategies” to boost FAFSA completion rates, said Robert Dais, director of GEAR UP, or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. Dais did not offer examples, and said the department has partnered with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on ideas to “excite and incentivize students.” The funding, outlined in the fiscal 2024 budget, can be used on public awareness campaigns and FAFSA “completion clinics.”

    “We are targeting Gateway Cities and students from historically underserved populations,” Dais said. “There’s more to come soon, but essentially we just wanted folks to know know that the Department of Higher Education is clearly focused on improving FAFSA and MASFA completion rates, and doing everything that we can to ensure that the neediest students are doing so.”

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    By Alison Kuznitz | State House News Service

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  • Keeping the ‘old’ in old school

    Keeping the ‘old’ in old school

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    BEVERLY — The lockers are staying. So are the chalkboards. Not to mention the windows and wood floors and the entire auditorium.

    The former Briscoe School is nearing the completion of a dramatic makeover into affordable housing and artists studios. But a recent tour of the building revealed there will still be plenty of “old school” left in the old school when it opens in the fall as Beverly Village for Living & the Arts.

    “We are really delighted with how the vision is turning into reality,” said Andrew DeFranza, executive director of Harborlight Homes, the Beverly-based affordable housing nonprofit that with Beacon Communities bought the building from the city in 2019. “It’s coming out better than I expected it would.”

    The Briscoe building was built in 1923 as the city’s high school. It went on to serve generations of Beverly students as a junior high school and middle school until it closed in 2018 when the city opened a new middle school.

    In its new life as Beverly Village, the building will have 85 apartments for low-income people 55 and older, and six live/work studios for artists. About 550 people have applied for the units. A lottery to determine who gets them is scheduled for April 4.

    On a tour of the building, Jake Briere, assistant superintendent for general contractor Keith Construction, pointed out how workers are retaining as many historic elements as possible.

    The most obvious feature from its school days are the student lockers that line the hallways. The orange and green lockers, which are original to the building and are built into the walls, will remain as a decorative element. They will also remain closed; they have been sealed shut.

    Inside the classrooms-turned-apartments, the old chalkboards remain on the walls, many in their original slate form. The windows — 564 of them — are staying, as are the wood floors. The auditorium will stay basically as is, with a plan to use it as a community theater. The stairways will retain their existing tiled walls and handrails.

    On the ground floor, the level of the former gym has been raised 16 feet to make it easier for residents to access. The space will be used for amenities including a fitness room, yoga studio, wellness center and community room with a kitchenette. The old locker rooms are being converted into the artist studios.

    Jay Leahy, a volunteer for Historic Beverly who was on the tour, said he was pleased to see the efforts to retain as much as the historical character as possible.

    “When you walk into that building you’ll know it’s a historic building,” Leahy said. “It will have modern amenities for the residents, but it still has the flavor of its original design and construction.”

    DeFranza credited city officials, including Mayor Mike Cahill, for their determination to retain much of the historic character of the building.

    The building is important to generations of Beverly residents who attended the school or know someone who did, and because it is so centrally located at the intersection of Colon Street and Sohier Road, DeFranza said.

    “If you were going to preserve a building in the city, can you imagine one that was more important than this one in terms of its impact on generations of families?,” he said. “It was a time and a place and a century worth of legacy.

    “These kind of chances are rare. They don’t make buildings like this anymore.”

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • SAT officials warn parents to beware of scammers

    SAT officials warn parents to beware of scammers

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    ARLINGTON, VA — For parents of high school students, SAT and ACT scores are a huge deal. With college admissions and scholarships on the line, paying for tutors and test prep materials may be worth the price.

    But watch out for con artists eager to take advantage of this. Scammers – with access to kids’ names and school information – are tricking parents into paying for bogus SAT and ACT prep materials.

    How this scam works

    You get an unsolicited call from a person claiming to be from the College Board, the company responsible for the PSAT, SAT, and AP tests, or another educational organization. The caller claims to be confirming your address, so they can send test prep materials, such as books, CDs, or videos, that your child requested at school.

    It seems so believable! Several people reported to BBB Scam Tracker that the caller even had their child’s name, phone number, address, school information, and/or the date and location of their child’s scheduled test.

    Of course, there’s a catch. The caller needs you to pay a deposit, sometimes several hundred dollars, for the materials. They claim it will be refunded when the materials are returned after a set number of days.

    Unfortunately, if you provide your address and credit card details, the materials will never arrive, and your deposit will never be refunded. Scammers now have your credit card number and other personal information.

    How to avoid similar scams

    Always be wary of unsolicited callers. If someone calls out of the blue asking for payment, always research their organization before you share personal information or agree to receive services or products. Look up the business they claim to represent at BBB.org.

    Search the name along with the words “scam” or “complaint” to find out if others had negative experiences. Check BBB Scam Tracker to see if anyone else has filed a report about the company.

    Double check with your child. If scammers say they are calling because of a service your child requested, tell them you need to check with your child first and hang up. Make sure their claims are legitimate before you call back or accept a return call. Don’t send any money or make a payment if there is any doubt about the call. The same is true for emergency scams.

    Understand the College Board’s practices. The College Board will never ask you for bank or credit card information over the phone or via email. If a caller suggests otherwise, hang up. Learn more about the College Board’s policies.

    Use your credit card when possible. Credit cards may refund your money if they spot a fraudulent charge or if you report one in a timely manner. You may not be offered the same protection if you pay with your debit card or other payment options. Never agree to pay a stranger with a money wire, prepaid cards, or digital wallet, such as Cash App or Venmo.

    For more information visit www.bbb.org.

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  • Essex County digital challenges ending online divide

    Essex County digital challenges ending online divide

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    About 20% of Essex County residents lack access to internet services and computers, along with an understanding of how to use digital devices.

    The Digital Equity Challenge invites individuals with ideas that address the internet divide to enter the annual pitch contest, which will award $10,000 in cash prizes to the most promising solutions.

    “We’re encouraging the community to use entrepreneurial thinking to develop innovative solutions to the challenges of digital literacy, access and digital equity,” said Stephanie Guyotte, associate director of UMass Lowell’s Innovation Hub Haverhill. “After two successful years launching projects, we’re excited to see what is created through the 2024 contest.”

    Now in its third year, the contest fosters ideas to increase digital literacy, improve access to devices and technology, and help ensure digital resources and opportunities are available to county residents of all racial backgrounds.

    Projects, businesses or nonprofit solutions are encouraged to enter the challenge if they target increasing digital literacy, access to devices and technology, or elevating racial equity in digital resources and opportunities.

    “We look forward to hearing from this year’s contestants about their visions for increasing access to the digital resources needed to navigate life today,” said Kate Machet, director of strategic initiatives and government relations at the Essex County Community Foundation.

    Applications are due by Friday, March 29, at 5 p.m. through the online portal at tinyurl.com/mr3cdc64.

    Last year’s winner, the nonprofit Computers 4 People, refurbishes donated computers to provide to people in need.

    Haverhill Promise, an initiative to help ensure elementary students in the city become proficient readers by third grade, won second place in 2023. The organization launched and expanded its kindergarten readiness summer program through the challenge’s funding.

    “Due to the program’s success, it garnered even more support through our community partners and Essex County Community Foundation,” said Jessica Kallin, executive director of Haverhill Promise. “We scaled up to a year-long program to continue to address the intersection of early learning, family empowerment, grade-level reading, racial equity, and digital access, citywide.”

    The Digital Equity Challenge has also supported an internet connectivity program in Haverhill as well as a digital literacy program for seniors in Lynn. The initiative has also funded a county-wide device refurbishment program.

    The challenge is a collaboration between the Essex County Community Foundation and UMass Lowell. It is also sponsored by the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute, Pentucket Bank and Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll).

    “EforAll Merrimack Valley is happy to partner with the Innovation Hub once again for the 2024 Digital Equity Challenge,” said Sophan Smith, executive director. “Digital literacy and equity are important in today’s interconnected world and are essential for navigating the digital landscape effectively, participating in the digital economy, and fully realizing the opportunities presented by technology.”

    The six finalists will be announced in April. They will pitch their ideas then at the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub in Haverhill, 2 Merrimack St., on May 2. Winners will share in $10,000 awarded to help make their ideas a reality.

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

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    By Monica Sager | Staff Writer

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  • Triton Regional High School lists honor roll

    Triton Regional High School lists honor roll

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    BYFIELD — Triton Regional High School announces its second-quarter honor roll.

    GRADE 12

    High honor roll: Douglas Aylward, Arianna Basile, Elise Blanchet, Joseph Coady, Madeline Doring, Carolyn Lucy, Zachary Lyon, Bryce Martis, Benjamin Norton, John Prendergast, Parker Spencer, Talia Strauch, Jessica Sullivan, Ryan Walsh.

    Honor roll: Brady Alantzas, Noah Alcaraz, Grace Aponas, Isabella Basile, Ayva Bezanson, Nola Bowes, Ella Cadieux, Hailee Calix, Isabella Clogston, Emma Coco, Savannah Colbert, Reaghan DeLisi, Andrew Doherty, Sarah Dos Reis, John Dwyer, Elizabeth Dynok, Taylor Frascone, Dean Gioia, Leena Haddadi, Jack Harding, Connor Hart, Lia Hatheway, Mallory Johnson, Sophia Lesinski, Jack Lindholm, Duncan MacDonald, Lauren Manning, Alexandra McManus, Elizabeth Northup, Buddy Porelle, Katharine Price, Aiden Quinn, Kyle Regnier, Zoe Rivera, Julia Salvati, Benjamin Shanley, Giavanna Sico, Charlotte Snow, Alanna Sparks, Kyla Story, Nora Tang, John Trojan, Anna Webb, Genevieve Young.

    Merit list: Samuel Abt, Simon Bissell, Sadie Clifford, Anna DiTullio, Angelia Flaherty, Aaron Hopkinson, Faye Hughes, Eloise Kirkpatrick, Emily Quijada-Velazquez, Reese Renda, Anna Romano, Brianna Russo, Gabrielle Siy, Aiden Szymanski, Evan Whaley.

    GRADE 11

    High honor roll: Nicolas Bonasera, Kaycee Currier, Henry Dean, Liam Friis, Amelia Hanson, Samuel Imlach, Taryn Irvin, Tihan Khan, Amelia Lopez, Vincent Magee, Marissa Maribito, Nathaniel Montanez, Isabella Morgese, Meredith Morneau, Elodie Muller, Maria Powis, Jovanni Rodriguez, Owen Silva, Corrina Storrs, Brian Wallwork, Peyton Watkins, Margaret Welch, Laura Zahornasky.

    Honor roll: Alexa Bonasera, Ava Burl, Sophia Chapman, Jared Coady, Mason Colby, Jonathan Doherty, Andrew D’Orazio, Alyssa Ewell, Kailyn Flynn, Jillian Giusto, Ava Herrera, William Hight, Jason Holscher, Scott Holscher, Aileen Huang, Ainslee Hurley, Levi Lind, Bradyn Lopes, Jack Lyman, Jackson Mace, Noah Markos, Grace McHale, Andrew Niedzielski, Alexis Novakouski, Zeno Odiase, Cooper Orpin, Emma Penniman, Alison Picanso, Olivia Polan, Abigail Rainsford, Alexander Sauris, Joshua Sauris, Lucas Sullivan, Isabelle Turner, Adam White, Evan Wilson.

    Merit list: Andrew Balkus, Tyler Brosch, Rachel Brown, Eben Buxton, Aidan Coates, Emilee Cooper, Justin Dao, Joshua Hersey Jr., Ashley Jones, Ava Kiricoples, Jackson McHale, Matthew Mollica, Ava Mullen, Cru Nuzzo, Jonah Remignanti, Jacob Roberge, Connor Rumph, Cole Sanders, Allison Snow, Ashley Watson, Lindsey Woodberry.

    GRADE 10

    High honor roll: Ciara Abruzzio, Julia Blanchet, Mia Dupuis, Richard Erickson, Sarah Ewell, Joseph Grimaldi, Ava Johnson, Paxton Laky, Erik Lyon, Cameron McDonald, Molly Reilly, Heidi Sanger, Adia Tang, River Wynne

    Honor roll: Devyn Alantzas, Alex Burns, Benjamin Cadieux, Sophia Carmona, Sydney Champagne, Michael Coco, Athan Eggleston, Ainsley Hanlon, Parker Harriott, Peighton Hertigan, Hugo Huang, Maeve Hughes, Harrison Huynh, Arely Esmeralda Jimenez-Miranda, Aubrey Jodz, Daniel Jones, Alexa Lawrence, Elinor Leahy, Caden Lucia, Braylon Lupa, Wyatt McCormick, Samantha McDermott, Gregory Muse Jr., Kelsey Nichols, Lowell Parra, Harrison Pike, Danika Prendergast, Delaney Quinn, Nathan Rettkowski, Addison Rowe, Leah Smullin, Kayla Sousa, Peter Spiliotis, Joanna Varsamis, Ian Warcewicz, Natalie Weiss.

    Merit list: Grace Alcaraz, Nancy Arias, Joshua Berger, Dylan Burrell, Genaro Carrillo, Aidan Cashman, Timothy Clark, Sadie Deveau, Joshua Krugman, Alanna Love, Zachary Machado, Riley McDonald, Madison Nelson, Austin Palladino, Chloe Price, Abigail Richard, Everett Romano.

    GRADE 9

    High honor roll: Olivia Basile, Gregory Berger, Nathan Ducott, Patrick Jansen, Ava Martin, Cassidy McBee, Caleb Murray, Jane Myette.

    Honor roll: Isabella Burrell, Penelope Byrnes, Nikolai Caluian, Foster Campbell, Giuliana Cogliani, Emma D’Andrea, Maryjane D’Arcangelo, Riley Dinsmore, Madeleine Friis, Maecy Gay-Killeen, Neala Hurley, Benjamin Imlach, Mia Jaworski, Travis King, Lauren Lavoie, Bailee Lawrence, Marin Magee, Hennix Ogren, Summer Pawlick, Liam Prendergast, Alexy-Izella Ramirez, Lucie Remignanti, Tristan Vo, Anika Weliczka, Charles White.

    Merit list: Wyatt Allen, Jack Atchinson, Michael Boudreau, Brady Cirino, Alfred Clifford VII, James D’Amato, Olivia Eaton, Samuel France, Griffon Krajeski, Everett Miller, Gracelyn O’Neill, Valentina Scuderi, Julia Smart, Isabel Smullin, Kai Witt, Benjamin Zambernardi.

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  • Haverhill High students learn from live, virtual concentration camp tours

    Haverhill High students learn from live, virtual concentration camp tours

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    HAVERHILL — Students at Haverhill High School are the first in the nation to engage in live, narrated tours of two Nazi concentration camps – Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau, where unimaginable atrocities took place during World War II.

    Anyone can watch documentaries and read books about the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis in their quest to eradicate the Jewish people of Europe, but short of visiting Auschwitz in person, local teachers say these live tours are the next best thing while also allowing students to ask questions of a knowledgeable tour guide.

    Through a partnership with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation for Genocide Education, the school is introducing these broadcasts as part of the freshman world history curriculum that calls for the study of genocide, not only the one that killed 6 million Jews in Europe during World War II but also genocides in Armenia, Rwanda and Cambodia.

    On Monday in the UMass Lowell iHub in the Harbor Place building on Merrimack Street, more than a dozen high school seniors were among the first to participate in a live broadcast from Auschwitz where more than 1.1 million men, women and children lost their lives.

    Their tour guide, a woman from Poland, interspersed her walking tour of the Auschwitz camp with real images of prisoners waiting to be executed in one inhumane way or another.

    A camera followed the guide through cramped former military barracks once packed with prisoners who were forced to sleep on hard floors before eventually being led to underground chambers where they were exterminated with poisonous gas. Images of prisoners crammed into tight quarters were overlaid onto the now-empty death buildings.

    Meghan DeLong, the district’s history coach, told a crowd that included various school and city officials that Haverhill is the first school district in the country to bring this experiential learning to students “in order to combat hatred in the world and to prevent future genocides.”

    During an intermission, several students talked about their impressions of the broadcast. Some of them had enrolled in a course titled “Holocaust and Crimes Against Humanity”.

    “It’s like you’re actually there visiting Auschwitz,” said senior Lucas Harvey. “What surprised me is how many people they put into such small spaces.”

    Senior Asil Nguyen said the live, narrated tour featured more intense images than she expected.

    “My knowledge of the death camps was not as detailed as this,” she said. “I participated in an earlier tour with a different guide and I was crying.”

    Senior Shea Kelley said what he saw on the video screen was a lot to deal with emotionally.

    “It’s all crammed together in small spaces with unsanitary conditions, it’s terrible to see,” he said.

    The guide continued her tour at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, about two miles from Auschwitz, and talked about how train cars overloaded with prisoners arrived before the people were led into underground gas chambers under the guise of taking showers.

    “Here, I learned how to starve and how to suffer,” a survivor of the death camp said in a recorded interview shown on two large video screens.

    “Trains from across Europe arrived here,” the tour guide said while walking the same path. “The gas chambers operated day and night in the summer of 1944.”

    “By the time Germany entered Hungary in March of 1944, the gas chambers and crematoria were operating at full capacity,” a prerecorded voice said. “In the spring of 1944, a special ramp was built to shorten the distance to the gas chambers. Those selected who were fit to work were abused, enslaved and exploited.”

    By fall 1944, the Nazi SS stopped the exterminations and began to deconstruct their crematorium, the tour guide said, and when the Nazis realized they were defeated, they tried to destroy all evidence of their crimes while continuing to kill Jews until the camps were liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945.

    The tour guide noted that as the Nazis left Auschwitz, they took many prisoners to other camps, which were subsequently liberated, but left behind about 7,500 of the weakest and sickest, who required months of medical care.

    The screen was overlaid with images of what the gas chambers looked like when they were intact, with images of the rubble that remains today.

    Tom Jordan, recently retired dean of history at Haverhill High, told the tour guide that there is an increasing number of Americans who seem open to the idea that the Holocaust did not happen as is stated and is “an exaggeration.”

    He asked what documentation or other evidence is used to prove that the Holocaust did occur.

    The tour guide noted the existence of the death camps’ remnants, including the crematoriums, along with the testimony of survivors, the contents of a museum at Auschwitz created by former prisoners, and other evidence.

    “Unfortunately, we have the lies that people spread and it can spread stronger than the truth,” she said.

    History teacher Ted Kempinksi said he became aware of these tours during a visit last summer to Auschwitz where he attended a professional development program on how technology is changing Holocaust education.

    “The Auschwitz Foundation was doing a presentation on this very tour we saw today,” he said. “I asked the question, ‘How can I bring this to Haverhill.’”

    Kempinksi said he brought the idea back to Haverhill and learned that DeLong had already applied for a grant that allowed the school to revise its curriculum to incorporate these tours.

    “A tour like this is a real privilege,” high school senior David Martinez told the crowd. “To see it live humanizes the stories in a way I don’t think you can really understand through textbooks or documentaries. You feel a real connection and it’s very moving.”

    Rabbi Ashira Stevens, spiritual leader of Temple Emanu-El in Haverhill, said that in the 20th century, baseless hatred led to the systematic persecution and mass murders of millions of people, including 6 million Jews throughout Europe, and that baseless hatred in the form of antisemitism and bigotry is on the rise throughout the country.

    She added that the hate speech in the news and on social media is “frightfully reminiscent of the time leading up to the Holocaust.”

    “We must continue to teach about what led to the Holocaust and how utterly horrific, devastating and far reaching it was,” Stevens said.

    The rabbi said the collaboration between the Auschwitz Foundation and Haverhill Public Schools will offer students a powerful opportunity to witness the horrors of the Holocaust, see firsthand the conditions at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and learn about the ideologies that led to the atrocities committed by the Nazis.

    To conclude the event, the educators presented a glass memento to Wojciech Soczewica, director general of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation in recognition of the partnership with Haverhill Public Schools.

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    By Mike LaBella | mlabella@ieagletribune.com

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  • North Shore Community College faculty vote ‘no confidence’ in president

    North Shore Community College faculty vote ‘no confidence’ in president

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    DANVERS — The union representing faculty and staff at North Shore Community College has taken a vote of no confidence in the school’s president and provost.

    In a statement to the college community, the union said President William Heineman and Provost Jennifer Mezquita have created new “highly compensated” nonunion and executive roles in nonacademic areas while leaving academic areas “woefully understaffed” and “neglected.”

    The statement also accused college leaders of passing over qualified internal candidates for newly created roles and creating a “culture of favoritism and fear” in which workers not protected by a union or tenure “are afraid to speak up for fear they will be terminated.”

    “Faculty, staff, and union leadership have individually over the course of the last year, brought concerns to the president and provost only to have those concerns met with, at times, outright hostility or more often empty words of agreement and understanding only to be followed with inaction,” the statement said. “We now speak unified with one voice.”

    The vote by the union was 94-0, with three abstaining. The statement was signed by Torrey Dukes, the North Shore Community College chapter president of the Massachusetts Community College Council, the union that represents faculty and professional staff at the state’s 15 community colleges. Dukes is the coordinator of public services at the college’s Lynn campus library. She did return a message for this story.

    In a statement, J.D. LaRock, chair of the college’s board of trustees, said trustees “remain steadfast in our support of Dr. Heineman and Dr. Mezquita and look forward to continuing to work with the (union) and all members of our community to foster an environment that fully supports our faculty, staff and students.”

    North Shore Community College is a two-year school with campuses in Danvers and Lynn and about 10,000 students. The average age of a student is 26, and the majority of students are employed.

    Heineman has been president of North Shore Community College since July 2021. He was previously provost at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill and Lawrence. Heineman created the provost position at North Shore Community College, and Mezquita, a former vice president of student affairs at Northern Essex, was selected for the position in June 2022.

    The no-confidence vote follows a walkout by faculty and staff at North Shore Community in December over pay. In 2020, the union took a vote of no confidence in the college administration, which was then led by President Patricia Gentile.

    In its statement, the union cited the recent termination of the college’s assistant provost as a “catalyst” for the no-confidence vote. The union said the assistant provost’s departure left the college without an academic officer who has “the depth and breadth of knowledge needed” to help write the college’s five-year accreditation report.

    The union said it opposed the plan for Mezquita to assume the responsibilities of the assistant provost of academic affairs. On Monday, the college announced that Chris Bednar, the dean of liberal studies at the school, had assumed the role of interim assistant provost for academic affairs/chief academic officer.

    The union said changes made to the president’s cabinet, including the removal of representatives for the academic divisions, sent a “clear signal that the academic life of the institution was not a priority of the executive leadership” and “have isolated the president and have further marginalized faculty and staff.” The union called for a union faculty member and professional staff member to be appointed to the cabinet.

    The union also called for better communication and transparency in regard to decisions, “especially those made by the provost.”

    “We have lost all confidence in the provost, and see very few paths forward,” the statement said. “The concentration of power and complete lack of transparency has created an atmosphere of distrust and fear. We can not emphasize this point enough.”

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • Biden loan forgiveness to save Massachusetts borrowers $19.5M

    Biden loan forgiveness to save Massachusetts borrowers $19.5M

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    BOSTON — Nearly 2,500 Massachusetts borrowers will see millions of dollars in college debt wiped out under President Joe Biden’s new $1.2 billion loan forgiveness cancellation program.

    Under the program, borrowers with less than $12,000 in student loans and who have been making payments for at least 10 years would get their remaining loan balance erased if they enroll in the federal government’s Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan.

    In Massachusetts, the plan will cancel $19.5 million in college loan debt held by 2,490 borrowers, according to data provided by the Biden administration.

    For every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments, according to the Biden administration.

    All borrowers who have signed up for the SAVE program will receive forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on whether they have loans for graduate school.

    The Biden administration said the forgiveness is based on the principal balance of federal loans borrowed as a student to attend school, “not what a borrower currently owes or the amount of an individual loan.”

    Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the Biden administration’s loan forgiveness programs are “making a real impact on people’s lives in every state.”

    “When we talk about fixing a broken student loan system, this is what we’re talking about,” he said in a statement. “This is that commitment in action. This is the real deal.”

    Overall, Biden’s latest loan forgiveness program will cancel up to $1.2 billion nationwide. In New Hampshire, nearly 500 borrowers will see at least $3.6 million in college debt wiped out.

    To date, $136.6 billion in federal college loans have been forgiven for more than 3.7 million Americans, according to the Biden administration.

    Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Biden plan that had called for canceling up to $10,000 in debt for those earning less than $125,000 per year and up to $20,000 for those who received federal Pell Grants.

    In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that the administration overstepped its authority in attempting to cancel or reduce student loan debt, effectively ending the $430 billion plan that would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people.

    The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by six Republican-led states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — which argued the program was government overreach.

    Conservative groups have filed legal challenges to Biden’s other loan forgiveness plans, but so far they haven’t been successful.

    Recent studies suggest that decades of declining financial aid support is putting many college students in deep debt.

    A report issued earlier this year by the Hildreth Institute found that nine out of 10 Massachusetts community college students have an unmet financial need, averaging about $8,557 per year.

    The report noted that tuition and fees at Massachusetts public institutions have jumped 59% since 2000, while household incomes only grew by 13% during the time.

    Massachusetts has cut state financial aid by 47% since 2002, according to the report, as other states have increased it by an average of 15% per student.

    The National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs ranked Massachusetts 37th in the nation in terms of providing funding for student financial aid, trailing far behind top-spending states such as Kentucky, Georgia and Louisiana.

    Gov. Maura Healey has also focused on college affordability by covering tuition costs and expanding loan repayment programs. Last year, she pushed a plan through the Legislature that devotes $20 million to make community college free for Massachusetts residents 25 and older who do not already have a degree.

    Healey has also diverted more funds to a program, which launched in 2022, that pays off up to $300,000 in college loans for healthcare professionals in a variety of disciplines, including dental, medical, mental health and substance abuse.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • State Senate plans another sex education reform vote

    State Senate plans another sex education reform vote

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    BOSTON — Senators next week will vote again on a bill to update the state’s sex education guidelines, something the chamber has already approved four times without getting buy-in from the House.

    The Senate Committee on Ways and Means polled the so-called Healthy Youth Act (S 268) this past Thursday, getting it ready for action this Thursday in the Senate’s first formal session in four weeks.

    The bill would update Massachusetts’ sexual health laws and create guidelines for districts that opt into teaching sex education to go over human anatomy; how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, AIDS and unwanted pregnancy; effective use of contraceptives; how to safely discuss sexual activity in a relationship; skills to identify and prevent sexual violence and relationship violence; and age-appropriate and affirming education on gender identity and sexual orientation.

    “As I said on the floor the last four times, we know our students are talking about these issues in the classroom or not,” Sen. Sal DiDomenico, the lead sponsor of the Senate bill, said. “If they’re not learning medically-accurate information taught in our classrooms, they’re getting bad information that could have long-term consequences.”

    Though the Senate has voted to remodel the education frameworks four times in the last decade, House Democrats have never taken it up. On the House side, Rep. Jim O’Day has sponsored the bill for the last 10 years.

    “When I started on this bill, the last time a framework for healthy youth, for sexual education, was addressed was in 1999,” O’Day said last month as a guest on former Senate President Harriette Chandler’s local cable show. “So here we are now in 2024, where we at least now have a good, solid, well-rounded, medically-accurate, age-appropriate, evidence-based (bill) … and this is not a mandate for this bill.”

    “That’s a disgrace,” Chandler, a supporter of the bill, said when O’Day initially raised the subject.

    The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education updated its sexual health education standards on its own accord last year to mirror some of what the so-called Healthy Youth Act calls for, after Gov. Maura Healey threw her support behind the controversial measure.

    Under the board’s new physical and sex education guidelines, students will receive sex and health education that is intended to be more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community and teach about bodily autonomy, mental and emotional health, dating safety, nutrition, sexually transmitted infections and consent.

    Neither the guidelines nor DiDomenico and O’Day’s bill would change the Massachusetts law that allows districts to opt-in to teaching sex education. The bill before senators would also require that parents get a letter at the beginning of the school year with details about the sex ed curriculum and the opportunity to opt their child out.

    Asked by the News Service how the bill differs from the updated frameworks the board of education adopted, DiDomenico said passing the Healthy Youth Acts would codify the new guidelines.

    The bill would require data collection on what’s being taught in schools, reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education every two years. It would also require that the state revisit the framework every 10 years, as it took 24 years this time around to update the guidelines.

    “Lastly, the framework is more of a suggestion for schools. Healthy Youth is an actual curriculum. and so there’s a lot more flexibility with the framework. Theoretically ‘abstinence only’ can still be taught with the framework,” DiDomenico said. “Under this bill, sex ed would talk about consent, LGBTQ language and healthy relationships as well. It’s a lot more detailed, unlike a suggestion.”

    The senator added that 17 states require sex education to be medically accurate and 26 require it to be age appropriate. Massachusetts is not on either of those lists.

    “I think that’s a pretty compelling argument. Many states across the country have seen the value of this education,” DiDomeinco said. “This bill will give students information they need to protect their health, have respectful relationships, and have a better future for themselves. In my mind, it’s just as important as math and science and English.”

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    By Sam Drysdale | State House News Service

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  • Art in the eye of the beholder: Free art shop in North Andover

    Art in the eye of the beholder: Free art shop in North Andover

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    NORTH ANDOVER — Any artist — or budding creative’s parent — knows how expensive art supplies can get.

    Materials are also not readily available.

    So Julie Faro set out to ensure artists of any age and any financial background are able to participate in art and allow their creativity to flow.

    “I just think it’s important for all of the kids to have access to all of the things and try out different materials,” Faro said. “I knew when I was a kid it was a big deal going to the art store and picking out a few things.”

    Faro owns Julie’s Art School, at 5 Hodges St. Last summer she and her work partner, Michelle Roy, became inspired by the little free libraries across the area and decided to create something similar, but this time for art.

    The free art shop was originally a greenhouse, Faro said. The blue-painted house was adorned with a water proof roof, and now the shelter sits outside of Julie’s Art School for anyone in the community — young and old.

    “I just think it’s great that anybody who might want to paint or do anything creative and artistic has the ability to do so,” Roy said. “We’re always supportive of anybody who wants to do anything creative.”

    The free art shop neighbors are encouraged to “look inside to find some creativity.” Artists can take supplies and leave some for others.

    On Friday, the free art shop was filled with masks and other sketches on canvas for artists to color or paint in. There were also brushes, crayons, colored pencils, little fun-shaped erasers, and a few art kits for painting wood or clay sculptures.

    “It’s generally mostly empty because people take stuff out of it,” Faro said. “Generally when it’s filled up, within a week it’s taken.”

    Faro said she regularly adds to the shop as well. She said extras from classes go into the shop, and if Faro sees a deal at the art store, she might grab a few pieces to put in the free art shop.

    “It came about because when we did a clean out of the studio, we had all of this extra stuff,” Faro said. “We figured we could have a little free shop for all of the extra stuff.”

    Faro’s art career started early. She was in a since-closed art class called Tasha’s Art, in North Andover, with Roy. The two now are able to share their talents, similarly to how Ms. Tasha used to with them.

    “Growing up I thought this was the coolest job in the world,” Faro said.

    In 2012, Faro opened Julie’s Art School. It was originally located on Main Street, and right after opening, the school saw about a dozen students enrolled in a class.

    Now the studio has grown to its location on Hodges Street and offers classes for both adults and children. Artwork by students, as well as Faro and Roy, decorates the school, with paintings ranging from a lighthouse to a mountainous landscape and even a few glass pieces.

    Spring classes begin on March 1. Faro also offers private lessons, including canvas painting, slime creation and sharpie tie dye.

    Julie’s Art School does have resources for students from low-income families to participate in some classes, but the space can be limiting. This is why Faro said the little art shop can be so beneficial. Faro and Roy said they “just want to help out the students.”

    “We try to give our classes to a few kids who can’t afford our classes every session,” Faro said, “but there’s only a couple of spaces for that, so this is an additional resource.”

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

    Follow Monica on Twitter at @MonicaSager3

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    By Monica Sager | msager@eagletribune.com

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  • A half century of hands-on learning at Whittier Tech

    A half century of hands-on learning at Whittier Tech

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    HAVERHILL — It’s 7:45 a.m., a Tuesday in this the 50th anniversary of Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School.

    Principal Chris Laganas’ booming voice reaches through the intercom to 1,275 students in their homerooms this morning two days before Thanksgiving; and two months before voters would defeat a plan to build a $446 million school.

    The students are from the 11 towns and cities in which 73% of special election voters would reject the new school proposal, deeming it too costly, and almost three months before the Whittier Tech School Committee voted recently to withdraw the proposal.

    The students are enrolled in any of 23 vocational-technical shops. From culinary arts to computer-aided design, HVAC to hospitality and marketing to masonry.

    The principal’s underlying message this morning in late November is the same as it will be in late May. The same as on a Monday or Friday.

    Since Whittier opened in the 1973-74 school year, its students have gone on to be machinists, mechanics, electricians, chefs, carpenters, plumbers, nurses, teachers, researchers and businesspeople and to work in all fields.

    In the coming weeks, freshmen will select the shop program they want to pursue and juniors will become eligible for the Whittier cooperative education program in which students alternate school work with paid employment in their chosen technical field.

    Invariably, Whittier grads become handy people.

    The message Laganas relays this morning, and the words from his predecessors, is this:

    Take the opportunity in hand and work it.

    Make it and shape it in these classrooms and shops, and out in the field on coop placements working for employers, says Laganas, also the assistant superintendent, and a former professional hockey player who skated in hundreds of minor league games.

    The Whittier Way is active, a learning-by-doing approach that has driven the Whittier Tech engine for 50 years.

    Mixing things up

    In a kitchen the size of a basketball court, overhead lighting glints off stainless steel counters, mixers and dishwashing machines.

    Voices roll up against rattling dishes and chiming silverware. Pots tumble into a deep sink, thumping like a kick drum.

    Two dozen culinary arts students in aprons and instructors in chef coats and hats transition from breakfast to lunch.

    A chef calls out a reminder for students to stay on schedule with their tasks. This is crucial when shifting from one meal to the next.

    In the baking section, a youth pours chocolate chips into a mixer filled with cookie dough.

    Behind him, a student pulls a baking sheet of fresh cookies from the oven and slides it on a rack to cool.

    The smell of warm chocolate chip cookies registers bliss.

    The difference at Whittier is students get to make, bake, serve and — yes — eat the cookies.

    Culinary student Jeramiahes Vega, a junior who lives in Haverhill, pushes a cart to the baking station.

    Cooking gives him pleasure, satisfies.

    “I like the people’s reactions after they eat the food I make,” he said. “I like that. I like seeing how they change after having good food.”

    Nearby, Lillian Lefcourt, a Haverhill senior clad in kitchen whites, scrapes her grill clean. She pokes a brush into a small stainless container with melted butter. She works with purpose. No wasted movement.

    She and a classmate have been making grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches — egg and bacon or sausage and cheese — for the teachers.

    Lefcourt came to Whittier to learn a trade, to earn a living.

    “I really like baking cookies and brownies,” she says, brushing butter on the grill.

    Students cut, measure and clean.

    Chefs supervise, calling out orders as needed.

    “Guiding the students,” chef Tjitse Boringa says. “The students are doing all the work.”

    Boringa, originally from the Netherlands, has been teaching here for 23 years.

    He is one of six culinary arts instructors.

    The hallmark here and in the school’s 22 other programs is active learning.

    Beginning with the basics and building skills, not the least of which are being punctual, being attentive and finding the pleasure we humans get from learning.

    More students are continuing their education these days, Boringa says.

    A lot of them go to Johnson & Wales University or the Culinary Institute of America or Northern Essex Community College, he says.

    Mouths and manes

    In the dental shop, Skyy Skinner, a sophomore from Haverhill, practices passing instruments to her partner. Precision in simple tasks are important.

    Skinner holds an explorer, a thin stainless steel object for probing. She is poised above a set of teeth. No face or head. Just teeth on a thin post.

    She is also learning about disease control, making sure she is gloved and surfaces are clean, that the objects are sterilized and the space disinfected.

    Good dental hygiene promotes good health, she says.

    “It is important for a lot of things you wouldn’t expect,” Skinner says.

    She and the seven or eight other dental assistant students in the room all say they want to work in the dentistry field.

    This program was added in 2018. There is a demand for dental hygienists and assistants. The same is true for the budding carpenters, electricians and other tradespeople here.

    Some students arrive to Whittier with a program in mind; others find theirs through the freshmen exploratory. For three-quarters of their first year, they cycle through the different shops learning about the skills and technologies before selecting one to pursue in depth over their remaining time at the school.

    The cosmetology program has 19 students. Once they are licensed, they are placed in a salon outside the school for their co-op assignment, instructor Nancy Calverley says.

    Here in the cosmetology salon, students are coloring and styling hair and applying gel polish to nails.

    Shaylee Twombly, a senior from Amesbury, is first bleaching her client’s hair tips and front pieces so she can apply a red color and give it a halo look.

    “As you can see, it is kind of lifting down here,” she says of the color, as it shifts from a natural brown color to a lighter blond.

    “I was just bored with my hair,” says the client, a fellow student, Julianna Bucknill, of Newbury.

    The students are an energetic group and interested in beauty and fashion.

    “We are all bubbly with each other,” says Twombly, who plans to go to a two-year college and someday open her own salon.

    Shaping and selling

    A majority of Whittier graduates continue their education. Some will start their own businesses.

    A number of the teachers here are former Whittier students.

    In the wood shop is instructor Mike Sandlin, who grew up in Haverhill. He graduated from Whittier in 1997, studying carpentry, and graduated from Westfield State University with a degree in regional planning.

    He then joined the carpenters union and worked in the carpentry field for 18 years before returning to teach at his old school.

    Sometimes it takes students a few years to figure what they want to do, but many of them “are crushing it,” Sandlin says.

    A former student came in the other day and told him how she had started out with a company on the bottom rung.

    She was pushing a broom around a shop.

    “And now has worked her way up and is drawing her own kitchens and coming up with her own cabinet plans,” Sandlin says.

    The wood shop is filled with lumber and tools and machines, including shapers, routers, sanders, planers, joiners, saws and lathes.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, students decorate the school store, called J. Greenleaf, draping garlands behind the checkout counter.

    Sophomore Lia Landan, a marketing student from Haverhill, adjusts a garland according to directions from fellow marketing student Michael Wells, a junior from Haverhill, who eyes the placement from the entrance.

    Next, they string lights around the greenery and play Christmas music.

    “We have a little tree over there,” Landan says.

    “We have a star up there,” another student says, pointing to a yellow star topping the garland.

    The right fit

    Across the hall from the store is the Poet’s Inn, a cozy eatery open to the public.

    Seated at a table are senior class president Owen Brannelly, from Amesbury, and hospitality program teacher Nikolas Kedian, who graduated from Whittier Tech in 2016.

    “I realized the second I stepped into the culinary shop, it was the place where I best fit in,” Kedian says. “You start eating the food, meeting the people.”

    It felt like home. His family has worked in restaurants, he says.

    Footsteps, lots of them, approach in the hallway.

    More than 250 JG Whittier Middle School students are visiting Whittier Tech this day.

    Every Tuesday in November and a little of December, middle school students from the 11 sending communities visit the vocational school.

    Brannelly says it feels like it was only last year that he was an Amesbury Middle School student visiting Whittier. He was excited and nervous, and imagines that is what these middle schoolers are feeling.

    He had not planned on going the vocational route but decided that he wanted to try something new and different.

    He has been the class president for three years.

    He and classmates have organized school dances, including the first homecoming dance in the last 20 years.

    The dances have drawn lots of students, almost 800 of them to the last dance.

    He is interning at ARCH Medical Solutions, a manufacturing company in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

    Last year, he worked for an accounting firm as a receptionist.

    He is also earning college credits, taking classes, including English composition, at Whittier through Northern Essex Community College.

    He wants to study marketing in college and has been accepted by Big Ten schools: the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University and Ohio State University.

    He is bound for a much larger world, and ready for his next new and different adventure, well prepared for it by the Whittier Way.

    Whittier by the numbers

    Opened: 1973

    Address: 115 Amesbury Line Road, Haverhill

    Enrollment: 1,277 students

    Student-teacher ratio: 10-1

    Mascot: Wildcat

    Colors: Maroon and gold

    Sending cities and towns: Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport, Georgetown, Groveland, Ipswich, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury.

    Programs: 23 in six core areas, arts and communication, construction, manufacturing, service, technology, and transportation

    Sports: 10 boys teams and nine girls teams

    2023 grads to college: 56%

    2023 grads to work: 37%

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    By Terry Date | Staff Writer

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  • AG’s office investigating private all-girls high school

    AG’s office investigating private all-girls high school

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    WENHAM — The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating complaints against the Academy at Penguin Hall, a private all-girls high school in Wenham.

    Assistant Attorney General Hanne Rush on Friday confirmed the existence of an investigation in response to a public records request by The Salem News for any complaints that have been filed against the school.

    In a letter, Rush said the AG’s office is withholding records because they “constitute investigatory materials related to an open investigation that reveal confidential sources,” and that disclosing the information would “cause a chilling effect on individuals to speak freely with law enforcement.”

    Molly Martins, the founder and president of the Academy at Penguin Hall, confirmed that the Attorney General’s office contacted the school and requested records.

    “We have provided the information that they requested and cooperated with their inquiry,” Martins said in an email. She declined to comment further.

    George Balich, the chair of Penguin Hall’s board of trustees, said he was unaware of any complaints against the school. He said officials from the Attorney General’s nonprofit organizations/public charities division visited the school in December after the school was delinquent in filing its annual financial audit.

    Penguin Hall provided the records and the AG’s office renewed the school’s certificate of solicitation, which charitable organizations need in order to solicit contributions, Balich said.

    “I don’t want to guess what’s going on,” he said, “but if someone there (in the Attorney General’s office) thought there was a problem we probably would not have gotten that certificate.”

    The Salem News reported last week the Academy at Penguin Hall, the only all-girls high school on the North Shore, is facing financial problems. The school has run up a deficit of millions of dollars since opening in 2016 and has struggled to pay its bills in recent months.

    In October, the town of Wenham threatened to shut off the school’s water due to unpaid water bills, and the IRS placed a lien on school property over unpaid payroll taxes.

    The Academy at Penguin Hall is an independent all-girls private school with about 120 students in grades 9-12. It operates as a 501©(3) nonprofit corporation and is required to file financial reports with the Attorney General’s nonprofit organizations/public charities division.

    The division “ensures appropriate application of charitable assets, investigates allegations and initiates enforcement actions in cases of breach of fiduciary duty,” according to the AG’s website.

    Penguin Hall had a negative fund balance of $6.5 million, according to the latest publicly available filing. The school has relied on millions of dollars in loans to stay afloat, including more than $2 million from Martins’ husband, Albert Martins, and his company, Martins Construction.

    Penguin Hall paid Martins Construction $960,000 in fiscal 2022. Molly Martins has said the payments were for renovations and other work at the school. Al Martins is also a member of the school’s board of trustees.

    Molly Martins is a former chairwoman of the Wenham Select Board.

    Penguin Hall recently announced a 40% increase in tuition, to $42,800, an attempt to resolve its financial problems, and has reached out to parents for donations.

    School officials have been meeting in small groups with parents about the school’s financial situation and are being “as transparent as possible,” Balich said.

    “Nobody’s hiding anything,” he said. “I’m being as blunt as I can and saying, ‘We need your help.’”

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • House arrest lifted for former teacher charged with sexually assaulting girls

    House arrest lifted for former teacher charged with sexually assaulting girls

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    SALEM, Mass. — A North Andover man and former North of Boston school teacher accused of sexually assaulting a dozen young girls can now leave his home during the day despite previously being on house arrest.

    Daniel Hakim, 38, is charged with aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, indecent assault and battery and two counts of rape of a child.

    Hakim, a former teacher at the Saltonstall School in Salem, Mass., is accused of sexually assaulting 12 girls between the ages of 6 and 8.

    His bail was set at $200,000 cash and he was under house arrest and monitored by a GPS bracelet.

    Hakim’s defense attorney filed a motion to amend his pre-trial, home confinement.

    Superior Court Judge Thomas Dreschler ruled this week that Hakim can leave his home with the GPS monitor remaining in place. His curfew is 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., according to court records.

    Also, Hakim is not allowed to enter the center of the city of Salem, town of Swampscott or “any municipality requested by the Commonwealth,” according to the order.

    Hakim is barred from having any contact with children under 18 and he is now allowed to work without the approval of the court, the judge ruled.

    Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker on Friday said prosecutors were opposed to altering the conditions of release but they respect the judge’s decision.

    Prosecutors say the assaults took place while Hakim was teaching at the Saltonstall school between 2015 and 2018.

    He was first charged in late 2021 with sexual assault on a student at the Saltonstall; other girls subsequently made disclosures.

    School officials, the Department of Children and Families, and Salem police were aware of multiple accusations of inappropriate behavior by Hakim in 2018, when he was terminated from the school and his teaching license suspended.

    He later formally surrendered his teaching license in 2020, according to records obtained by The Salem News, a sister paper of The Eagle-Tribune, through a public records request.

    DCF had previously made a determination that the accusations were “unsupported.”

    Prior to working in the Salem Public Schools, Hakim had been employed by several other school districts and schools.

    He worked at the Brooks School in Andover in 2015 and 2016 in a “Teen Challenge” program.

    He had also worked as a health teacher at the Shawsheen Elementary School in Wilmington from 2013 until 2015 and for the Collaborative for Educational Services from 2009 until 2013.

    Hakim’s next court date is March 7 for a status review of the case.

    Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.

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    By Jill Harmacinski jharmacinski@eagletribune.com

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  • A half century of hands-on learning at Whittier

    A half century of hands-on learning at Whittier

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    HAVERHILL — It’s 7:45 a.m. A Tuesday in this the 50th anniversary of Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School.

    Principal Chris Laganas’ booming voice reaches through the intercom to 1,275 students in their homerooms this morning two days before Thanksgiving; and two months before voters would defeat a plan to build a new $446 million school.

    The students are from the 11 towns and cities in which 73% of special election voters would reject the new school proposal, deeming it too costly, and almost three months before the Whittier Tech School Committee voted this week to withdraw the proposal.

    The students are enrolled in any of 23 vocational-technical shops. From culinary arts to computer-aided design, HVAC to hospitality and marketing to masonry.

    The principal’s underlying message this morning in late November is the same as it will be in late May. The same as on a Monday or Friday.

    Since Whittier opened in the 1973-74 school year, its students have gone on to be machinists, mechanics, electricians, chefs, carpenters, plumbers, nurses, and teachers and researchers and business people and to work in all fields.

    In the coming weeks, freshmen will select the shop program they want to pursue and juniors will become eligible for the Whittier cooperative education program in which students alternate school work with paid employment in their chosen technical field.

    Invariably, Whittier grads become handy people.

    The message Principal Laganas relays this morning, and the words from his predecessors, is this:

    Take the opportunity in hand and work it.

    Make it and shape it in these classrooms and shops, and out in the field on coop placements working for employers, says Laganas, also the assistant superintendent, and a former professional hockey player who skated in hundreds of minor league games.

    The Whittier Way is active, a learning-by-doing approach that has driven the Whittier Tech engine for 50 years.

    Mixing things up

    In a kitchen the size of a basketball court, overhead lighting glints off stainless steel counters, mixers and dishwashing machines.

    Voices roll up against rattling dishes and chiming silverware. Pots tumble into a deep sink, thumping like a kick drum.

    Two dozen culinary arts students in aprons and instructors in chef coats and hats transition from breakfast to lunch.

    A chef calls out a reminder for students to stay on schedule with their tasks. This is crucial when shifting from one meal to the next.

    In the baking section, a youth pours chocolate chips into a mixer filled with cookie dough.

    Behind him, a student pulls a baking sheet of fresh cookies from the oven and slides it on a rack to cool.

    The smell of warm chocolate chip cookies registers bliss.

    The difference at Whittier is students get to make, bake, serve and — yes — eat the cookies.

    Culinary student Jeramiahes Vega, a junior who lives in Haverhill, pushes a cart to the baking station.

    Cooking gives him pleasure, satisfies.

    “I like the people’s reactions after they eat the food I make,” he says. “I like that. I like seeing how they change after having good food.”

    Nearby, Lillian Lefcourt, a Haverhill senior clad in kitchen whites, scrapes her grill clean. She pokes a brush into a small stainless container with melted butter. She works with purpose. No wasted movement.

    She and a classmate have been making grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches — egg and bacon or sausage and cheese — for the teachers.

    Lefcourt came to Whittier to learn a trade, to earn a living.

    “I really like baking cookies and brownies,” she says, brushing butter on the grill.

    Students cut, measure and clean.

    Chefs supervise, calling out orders as needed.

    “Guiding the students,” chef Tjitse Boringa says. “The students are doing all the work.”

    Boringa, originally from the Netherlands, has been teaching here for 23 years.

    He is one of six culinary arts instructors.

    The hallmark here and in the school’s 22 other programs is active learning.

    Beginning with the basics and building skills, not the least of which are being punctual, being attentive and finding the pleasure we humans get from learning.

    More students are continuing their education these days, Boringa says.

    A lot of them go to Johnson & Wales University or the Culinary Institute of America or Northern Essex Community College, he says.

    Mouths and manes

    In the dental shop, Skyy Skinner, a sophomore from Haverhill, practices passing instruments to her partner. Precision in simple tasks are important.

    Skinner holds an explorer, a thin stainless steel object for probing. She is poised above a set of teeth. No face or head. Just teeth on a thin post.

    She is also learning about disease control, making sure she is gloved and surfaces are clean, that the objects are sterilized and the space disinfected.

    Good dental hygiene promotes good health, she says.

    “It is important for a lot of things you wouldn’t expect,” Skinner says.

    She and the seven or eight other dental assistant students in the room all say they want to work in the dentistry field.

    This program was added in 2018. There is a demand for dental hygienists and assistants. The same is true for the budding carpenters, electricians and other tradespeople here.

    Some students arrive to Whittier with a program in mind; others find theirs through the freshmen exploratory. For three-quarters of their first year, they cycle through the different shops learning about the skills and technologies before selecting one to pursue in depth over their remaining time at the school.

    The cosmetology program has 19 students. Once they are licensed, they are placed in a salon outside the school for their co-op assignment, instructor Nancy Calverley says.

    Here in the cosmetology salon, students are coloring and styling hair and applying gel polish to nails.

    Shaylee Twombly, a senior from Amesbury, is first bleaching her client’s hair tips and front pieces so she can apply a red color and give it a halo look.

    “As you can see, it is kind of lifting down here,” she says of the color, as it shifts from a natural brown color to a lighter blond.

    “I was just bored with my hair,” says the client, a fellow student, Julianna Bucknill, of Newbury.

    The students are an energetic group and interested in beauty and fashion.

    “We are all bubbly with each other,” says Twombly, who plans to go to a two-year college and someday open her own salon.

    Shaping and selling

    A majority of Whittier graduates continue their education. Some will start their own businesses.

    A number of the teachers here are former Whittier students.

    In the wood shop is instructor Mike Sandlin, who grew up in Haverhill. He graduated from Whittier in 1997, studying carpentry, and graduated from Westfield State University with a degree in regional planning.

    He then joined the carpenters union and worked in the carpentry field for 18 years before returning to teach at his old school.

    Sometimes it takes students a few years to figure what they want to do, but many of them “are crushing it,” Sandlin says.

    A former student came in the other day and told him how she had started out with a company on the bottom rung.

    She was pushing a broom around a shop.

    “And now has worked her way up and is drawing her own kitchens and coming up with her own cabinet plans,” Sandlin says.

    The wood shop is filled with lumber and tools and machines, including shapers, routers, sanders, planers, joiners, saws and lathes.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere in the building, students decorate the school store, called J. Greenleaf, draping garlands behind the checkout counter.

    Sophomore Lia Landan, a marketing student from Haverhill, adjusts a garland according to directions from fellow marketing student Michael Wells, a junior from Haverhill, who eyes the placement from the entrance.

    Next, they string lights around the greenery and play Christmas music.

    “We have a little tree over there,” Landan says.

    “We have a star up there,” another student says, pointing to a yellow star topping the garland.

    The right fit

    Across the hall from the store is the Poet’s Inn, a cozy eatery open to the public.

    Seated at a table are senior class president Owen Brannelly, from Amesbury, and hospitality program teacher Nikolas Kedian, who graduated from Whittier Tech in 2016.

    “I realized the second I stepped into the culinary shop, it was the place where I best fit in,” Kedian says. “You start eating the food, meeting the people.”

    It felt like home. His family has worked in restaurants, he says.

    Footsteps, lots of them, approach in the hallway.

    More than 250 JG Whittier Middle School students are visiting Whittier Tech this day.

    Every Tuesday in November and a little of December, middle school students from the 11 sending communities visit the vocational school.

    Brannelly says it feels like it was only last year that he was an Amesbury Middle School student visiting Whittier. He was excited and nervous, and imagines that is what these middle schoolers are feeling.

    He had not planned on going the vocational route but decided that he wanted to try something new and different.

    He has been the class president for three years.

    He and classmates have organized school dances, including the first homecoming dance in the last 20 years.

    The dances have drawn lots of students, almost 800 of them to the last dance.

    He is interning at ARCH Medical Solutions, a manufacturing company in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

    Last year, he worked for an accounting firm as a receptionist.

    He is also earning college credits, taking classes, including English composition, at Whittier through Northern Essex Community College.

    He wants to study marketing in college and has been accepted by Big Ten schools: the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University and Ohio State University.

    He is bound for a much larger world, and ready for his next new and different adventure, well prepared for it by the Whittier Way.

    Whittier by the numbers

    Opened: 1973

    Address: 115 Amesbury Line Road, Haverhill

    Enrollment: 1,277 students

    Student-teacher ratio: 10-1

    Mascot: Wildcat

    Colors: Maroon and gold

    Sending cities and towns: Haverhill, Amesbury, Newburyport, Georgetown, Groveland, Ipswich, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury.

    Programs: 23 in six core areas, arts and communication, construction, manufacturing, service, technology, and transportation

    Sports: 10 boys teams and nine girls teams

    2023 grads to college: 56%

    2023 grads to work: 37%

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    By Terry Date | tdate@eagletribune.com

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  • St. John’s Prep jazz band plays national competition

    St. John’s Prep jazz band plays national competition

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    DANVERS — The St. John’s Prep Jazz Eagles flew to Philadelphia last weekend for a special performance at the National High School Jazz Competition.

    The jazz quintet competed in the first in-person version of this event since the start of the pandemic, going up against more than 50 ensembles from some of the top music programs in the nation.

    While they didn’t place in the overall competition, guitar player and Melrose resident Charlie Mitchell received a Judges’ Choice Award and an Outstanding Jazz Musician Award.

    “I was really caught off-guard because the room was just full of people and I heard so many great musicians that day,” said Mitchell, an 18-year-old senior.

    “Jazz for me is more about not just playing the songs themselves, but playing with other people and interacting with other musicians on an artistic level.”

    Mitchell is joined in the quintet by bass guitarist Rowan Jones, tenor sax polar Arthur “Liam” Sullivan, drummer Nate Leonard and guitarist Chris Jalbert, a 16-year-old Danvers resident.

    “We did pretty-pretty good and we’re proud of how we performed,” Jalbert said. “All the criticisms that we were given was new information that we hadn’t really thought about, and it was really insightful to hear what professionals had to say about us.”

    The group performed “Bright Size Life” by Pat Metheny, a guitar-focused song the students had to adapt to include saxophone. They also played a more traditional jazz-sounding song, “Strasbourg St. Denis” by Roy Hargrove, and a jazz fusion piece by Indigo Jam Unit called “Sepia.”

    The students created their own solos to perform during the pieces and also attended clinics at the competition. In their free time, they went sightseeing and attended a performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

    The Jazz Eagles play an upward of 15 performances each year, including at concerts and school events.

    “They are very well prepared, very well polished,” group director Seelan Manickam said. “Not all of them are necessarily going to continue this as a career, but yet it’s an important part of their life.”

    Jalbert wants to go to college for audio engineering. He wants music to be the backbone of his future career, he said. Just like it’s at the core of his high school experience.

    “Being a part of (Jazz Eagles) is just fun,” he said. “It’s been the best way to bring my interest in guitar into school. It’s a place where I feel comfortable being able to take my ideas and put them into the world.”

    Contact Caroline Enos at CEnos@northofboston.com

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    By Caroline Enos | Staff Writer

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